Hyperbole: Difference between revisions
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* He beat him ''into a pulp''. (He beat him up very harshly.) <br /> |
* He beat him ''into a pulp''. (He beat him up very harshly.) <br /> |
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* He must have jumped a ''mile''. (He jumped very high into the air.) |
* He must have jumped a ''mile''. (He jumped very high into the air.) |
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* I'm ''doing like 15 trillion |
* I'm ''doing like 15 trillion things'' right now. (I'm busy.)<br /> |
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* Boston State-House is ''the hub of the solar system''. (Boston State-House is an important place.)<br /> |
* Boston State-House is ''the hub of the solar system''. (Boston State-House is an important place.)<br /> |
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:-[[Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.]], "The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," Ch. 6 |
:-[[Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.]], "The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," Ch. 6 |
Revision as of 18:23, 10 March 2009
Hyperbole (Template:PronEng hye-PER-buh-lee; "HYE-per-bowl" is a common mispronunciation) comes from ancient Greek "ὑπερβολή" (meaning excess or exaggeration) and is a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is rarely meant to be taken literally.
Hyperbole is used to create emphasis. It is a literary device often used in poetry, and is frequently encountered in casual speech. It is also a visual technique in which a deliberate exaggeration of a particular part of an image is employed. An example is the exaggeration of a person's facial feature in a political cartoon.
Etymology
Derived from the Greek ὑπερβολή (literally 'overshooting' or 'excess'), it is a cognate of hyperbola. Antonyms to hyperbole include meiosis, litotes, understatement, and bathos (the 'let down' after a hyperbole in a phrase).
Examples
Some examples of use of hyperbole include:
- These books weigh a ton. (These books are heavy.)
- I could sleep for a year. (I could sleep for a long time.)
- The path went on forever. (the path was really long.)
- He beat him into a pulp. (He beat him up very harshly.)
- He must have jumped a mile. (He jumped very high into the air.)
- I'm doing like 15 trillion things right now. (I'm busy.)
- Boston State-House is the hub of the solar system. (Boston State-House is an important place.)
- -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., "The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," Ch. 6
- "Ladies and gentlemen, I've been to Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and I can say without hyperbole that this is a million times worse than all of them put together." This uses hyperbole to illustrate the use of hyperbole.
- He was so big he used a tree trunk for a toothpick. (He is a huge person.)
- I'd kill myself before listening to another one of his speeches. (His speeches are very unpleasant.)
- This coffee tastes like an old man has been heated to render out the earwax. (This coffee tastes horrible.)
A common source of unwitting humour is when hyperbole is preceded by the word "literally":
- "I was literally bullied at work in several different ways. I was forced to literally work with both hands tied behind my back. If I wanted time off I literally had to fight for it." [1]